Is it worth moving to HK on a budget?

[Drumcode]

Hi all

I'm a 26yo single male who might have the chance to move to HK with work and it's something I would be keen to do. I wanted a bit more insight as to the costs, as rent seems to be a bit of a killer.

I'm currently in London and taken home about 1700 per month after tax. I think if I moved to HK, and put the student loan on hold that may translate to roughly 22,000HKD.

I thought that would be quite a solid amount but reading around here people seem to be floating amounts significantly higher than that and still worrying about struggling?

That's got me a little worried as to whether it would be viable? I would be keen to find a flatshare and live with somebody else, ideally a double bed, somewhere I can still get home to after a decent night out on the island.

I currently spend about 800 a month on rent so have roughly £1k to live on per month which is plenty if I'm not booking up holidays or anything. It seems that I might need around about 12,000HKD ish for a 1 bedroom or flatshare which would leave around 10,000HKD per month, or £800ish? I was under the impression that should be enough to still have a good time and make the most of it.

Am I being naive? Would appreciate some opinions on this!

Cheers in advance.

[INXS]

Hi,

You are going to get a whole range of answers my friend. Some of the people here spend your salary on drinks each month.

I live in a 3 bedroom maisonette and pay $7800HKD per month including parking. It takes me about 40 minutes to drive to Central HK and well under an hour by bus/taxi/train.

That said, you might want to live closer to the 'action'.....you could get a flat-share for under 8k I'm sure...don't listen to these rich bastards. You don't have to eat out at the flashiest restos. and sip cocktails at LKF every night.....On your current salary you probably don't eat out every day and only drink on weekends I'd guess? Stick to that and you'll save money here...

Your salary for a 26 y/o guy on his own is plenty and why would you miss the opportunity?

For reference, most of the several thousand English teachers here earn about the same as you will be in their first year.

[Drumcode]

Thanks, that's useful.

I guessed as much about the range of answers. I guess I'm not all about a life of luxury but don't want to find myself in a situation where I couldn't afford to go out at all, or lived off the island and had a huge commute.

Yeah, your guess about my lifestyle is correct, from what I'm told I will be working considerably longer hours over there anyway so less time to spend!

If as you say there will be a decent amount of young expats on a similar salary then that sort of answers my question for me! I think it might only be for 6 months or a year initially anyway so I can handle a fairly basic apartment.

Just got to hope the opportunity comes through!

[shenwen]

You'll be fine. You won't be out on the piss five nights a week, but you will be fine. I know many folk who get by on a similar amount and even have their own flat/studio for 10K per month.

[TrailingWife]

If you're away from the UK for less than a tax year you might still be liable to UK income tax. Make sure you get a clear view on that before committing for a short secondment as you could have to pay UK tax off your HK earnings if you're not careful.

[CJ95ZZ]

Where will u work? if u work in Kowloon, u can rent a space in the New Territories quite cheap when compared to Hk island. The train service here has a monthly pass thats 420 or 430 hkd which has unlimited rides between New Territories and Kowloon. so actually 20k a month is actually enough in Hong Kong especially since you're single and dont need to worry about other costs besides your own utilities.

[MovingIn07]

You seem to be under the impression that living off HK island is a "huge commute". What is "huge" in your mind? Because depending on where you are, that could be anything from 10 minutes to an hour....

[7jai]

20K is enough to live on. I suggest flat-sharing with other foreign roomates because that's a great way to really meet new people. Perhaps your roomies can even hook you up with an even better job!

Flat-sharing is the cheapest option; easyroomate is a great website to check out for that. I've seen some habital ones go for as low as $6,000 to as high as $10,000 for flat shares. So I think $7,000 is a very reasonable amount for a 2-person/3-person flat share. With that said, you now have more money in your pocket to do your exploring with!

Personally, I would live somewhere on the HK island or Kowloon area for flatshare. Sure, you can live in the New Territories or Lamma Island and still commute over to HK Island (it's not difficult); but I think the time/money saved on the MTR is pretty big (esp. if you plan to stay for more than a year or so). From my experience, most of the action and most of my friends are majority on the Island anyways... so it forces me to travel there alot (i'm not sure if that is the same for you).

Good luck on your planning!!

[imparanoic]

you can choose to live in a shoebox ( 150 sq ft) and be close to the action or choose to live in decent size place in northern NT at HK$1000 for 600 sq ft, but commute will be an hour

[INXS]

Original Post Deleted

OP. Note that DeletedUser defines crap as anywhere that has trees and beaches. Nice places to live have the concrete packed so tight that the windows pop out...